Two teams will race at Imola this week. Racing Bulls will take to the track a few dozen kilometers from its Faenza factory on Tuesday with Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar, while Sauber will come from Hinwil to accompany the locals on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
The Swiss team will ride Nico Hülkenberg, who returns to the team this year, and Gabriel Bortoleto, its new recruit. They will drive the 2022 C42 on Wednesday and Thursday, to continue preparation for the season which began with the Abu Dhabi tests in December.
Hulkenberg and debutant Bortoleto will take to the track on Wednesday and Thursday on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari at Imola, with the duo having already acquainted themselves with their new team at December’s Abu Dhabi post-season test.
As he prepares for a season with Stake and Sauber in 2025, the German is obviously thinking of 2026, the year for which he is under contract, and which will see him race under the colors of Audi F1.
“I will be one of the first two drivers to drive for Audi, and as a German there is an element of pride, and I am very happy about that” admet Hülkenberg. “It’s really cool, it’s really huge.”
-“Obviously at the moment there's a lot of work ahead of us, but 2026 is going to be such a reset for everyone with the regulatory changes. It's a clean slate for everyone and it offers very good opportunities for everyone involved.”
Hülkenberg admits that he did not expect, when he lost his place in Formula 1, to be able to return, and even less to take this path: “Probably not. Yes, it's been a bit of an adventure, fun and positive, but I don't think I would have expected or thought it was going to happen. Obviously it was life that made me led where it led me.”
“I think the comeback worked, it paid off and the way it all happened, the break, the three years away, was really good and refreshing for me personally. I think “That has to do with track performance, and that's obviously the most important thing here.”
